will

[thos]

A cousin died childless.He had a thriving shop business and property. An amount of 400,000 pounds is at stake.In his will he left the money to his surviving cousins totalling 20.However his godson (no blood relative) who worked in the shop ) claims everything should go to him. He says his godfather promised it to him because they were close ,He cites the fact he called him uncle and has witnesses to that effect. Nevertheless he is not mentioned in the will nor does anyone know that his godfather made such a promise.This problem has been in the hands of a solicitor for 4 years and still no resolution.It begs the question why make a will when someone can make a claim such as this.what shou we do ?

[dzug]

Nag the solicitor to take it to court and get it settled.

I suspect the same claim would have been made if there hadn'r been a will. In theory it stands no chance of success.

[tamborine]

Godson is not in Will as a beneficiary - initiate Court poceedings (make sure you inform g'sons solicitor that 'loser pays). You have good chance of winning.....or g'son will back off in fright.

[thos]

thanks for answer but solicitor has been nagged the past few years but nothing happens should we change solicitors

[thos]

how does one initiate proceedings can it be done without our solicitor do we inform godsons slicitor

[tamborine]

Instruct solicitor to initiate Court proceedings or move to another legal practice. You can sue your solicitor if he has been negligent with this case.

[thos]

thanks dzug and tambourine happy new year

[dzug]

Or maybe the other way round - nag the godson to start court proceedings or shut the hell up.

[factor-fiction]

I'm not clear as to why the solicitor is involved- did the godson instruct the solicitor?

[buildersmate]

Nor am I, Factor.
Why is a solicitor involved in the first place? Who instructed him?
Why hasn't one of the blood relatives named in the will simply applied to the probate office for letters of administration entitling that person to deal with the estate of the deceased.
The godson is not a blood relative and since is not named in the will, is entitled to nothing.
Who has been running the shop in the last 4 years and how?

[Eve]

I'd have thought the estate should be settled and if the godson wanted to make any claim then it is in his hands and can be defended as necessary.

Who is the solicitor representing and what, if anything have they been instructed to do? If they have been instructed but are not acting properly then definitely raise it as an issue and take appropriate action.

I'd also wonder what has happened to the running of the shop, where the profits have gone, who has paid the overheads etc... in the last 4 years.

[brenda]

Find this post hard to believe, 20 people involved , close on 1/2a million, waiting to be divided and no-one has a clue .A solicitor appointed keeps everyone waiting for 4 years !!!!!
For goodness sake get your act together , before you lose everything .

[whitelady]

Here is the way round it, there are 20 cousins, now there are 21, get it divided out as soon as possible, instead of 20.000 each you will get 19047-62 each, not worth wasting any more time, he will probably grab it if offered to him, have a chat with your cousins soon.

[whitelady]

Solicitior gets interest on this money until its sorted so he is in no rush.

[cherrychapstick]

i agree with you white lady or would you just rather pay a solicitor for doing nothing sack the solicitor once you have all agreed that this would be better as when you win your solicitor is going to take a percentage anyway ,if the godson does not agree then change your solicitor and go to court asap

[dzug]

<<Here is the way round it, there are 20 cousins, now there are 21, get it divided out as soon as possible, instead of 20.000 each you will get 19047-62 each, not worth wasting any more time, he will probably grab it if offered to him, have a chat with your cousins soon. >>

Which I suspect is exactly the godson's ploy. He knows he isn't entitled, but is stringing it out in the hope of being offered something to go away.

[fredpuli47]

Has probate been granted ? If it has, who is the executor/ are executors ? Have the beneficiaries filed a 'warning' whereby the godson is put on notice of his liability for costs? What steps, if any, has the godson taken to file suit, make a claim ? The executors should have consent to administer the estate pending the resolution of the claim, or obtain an order to that effect so that the assets of the estate are protected. Has a defence been filed to the claim? What stage has the litigation reached ? I would have expected any claim to have been listed for trial and disposed of by now (or struck out or abandoned). The courts, contrary to popular opinion, act quickly and do not tolerate delays in such cases. They know that it is very easy for some disgruntled individual to hold up the beneficiaries receiving what is due to them, and do so out of mischief without any arguable or valid case.
What is the nature of the claim? Is it that the will is invalid (deceased under duress, or undue influence, or not understanding the nature of what he signed, or will invalid for not being executed in due form )? Or is this some claim on the basis of the godson being financiallly dependant on the deceased at death and/or having some claim in equity ( acted to own substantial detriment through promise of inheritance; a very rare, but sometimes possible claim) ?
Who appointed the solicitor ? Whoever it was the questions above should be asked of the solicitor by the person(s) employing the solicitor.

[buildersmate]

Ho hum. We all seems to be asking the same type of questions.
Meanwhile the question-asker has done a runner.

[fredpuli47]

Yes BM, as so often. We may console ourselves with the thought that the question is of wider general interest , not unique to this case and to these precise facts. Somebody else might glean something useful from our replies !

[thos]

thanks for all answers -printing them out.Today solicitor will have all these answers put to him . Thanks again everyone.

[fredpuli47]

They're some incidental questions.The estate is of a value that inheritance tax is payable, although not a very great amount. The business, if trading at the time of death, may get 100% relief from tax.The property probably won't get relief. It depends what's meant by property.If it's agricultural (but not equine,which may be eligible for business relief,though), for example, and not let, it may get relief of 100%.However, whatever it is there has to be valued and an account submitted with your estimate of what tax is payable, and the payment.The Revenue then graciously allows you to have probate before it comes back and asks for more money, based on its own guess !
Be prepared for the solicitor to say that the Revenue are causing delay in winding up the estate. That's a valid excuse in some cases. My mother, for example, died in December three years ago,leaving everything to me. Now, I have some practical and professional knowledge, am sole executor acting, and instructed the best solicitor in probate yet the estate is not yet wound up ! But, that said, 4 years is still excessive.It's certainly far,far, too long to resolve the claim of the godson and get him out of the picture, whether he wins or loses.A solicitor has no excuse for not keeping the executors informed of progress and the reasons for delays.